The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins

Publisher: Doudbleday Canada
Publish Date: January 13, 2015
Format: Kobo
Pages: -
ISBN: 978 0385682329

Rachel takes the same commuter train every morning.  Every day she rattles down the track, flashes past a stretch of cozy suburban homes, and stops at the signal that allows her to daily watch the same couple breakfasting on their deck.  She’s even started to feel like she knows them.  “jess and Jason.” She calls them.  Their life – as she sees it – is perfect.  Not unlike the life she recently lost.

And then she sees something shocking.  It’s only a minute until the train moves on, but it’s enough.  Now everything’s changed.  Unable to keep it to herself, Rachel offers what she knows to the police, and becomes inextricably entwined in what happens next, as well as in the lives of everyone involved.  Has she done more harm than good?

My Thoughts

This novel was a pleasant surprise and you need to read it right now!  Don't read any reviews, just read it.  Told in the voice of 3 female narrators - none are to be trusted.  How easy it is to get caught up in the lives of people you only see as you sit on a passing train, that is exactly what happened to Rachel and it got her into some hot water and making her very unreliable.  A story filled with secrets and full of grittiness.  Amazing character development and very well written, it wasn't hard to figure lout who the culprit was early on, but that didn't deter me from wanting to know what happened along the way while still holding my interest the entire time.

I devoured this novel - and that doesn't happen very often.  I loved the thrill, I loved the mystery.  Would I compare it to Gone Girl?  I don't think you really can.  There is no book that stands up against Gone Girl.  I LOVED Gone Girl and I really really liked The Girl on the Train.  Paula Hawkins has instantly become an author I will be keeping my eye on.

My Rating: ««««

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The reviews made here are my personal opinion. I’m not being paid to review any of these books. I am by no means a professional book reviewer or editor.  I do this for the love of books.

Defending Jacob by William Landay

Publisher: Delacorte Press

Publish Date: January 31, 2012

Format: Hardcover

Pages: 432

ISBN: 978 0385344227

Andy Barber has been assistant district attorney in his suburban Massachusetts county for more than twenty years.  He is respected in is community, tenacious in the courtroom, and happy at home with his wife, Laurie, and son, Jacob.  But when a shocking crime shatters their New England town, Andy is blindsided by what happens next: His fourteen-year-old son is charged with the murder of a fellow student.

Every parental instinct Andy has rallies to protect his boy.  Jacob insists that he is innocent, and Andy believes him.  Andy must.  He’s his father.  But as damning facts and shocking revelations surface, as a marriage threatens to crumble and the trial intensifies, as the crisis reveals how little a father knows about his son, Andy will face a trial of his own – between loyalty and justice, between truth and allegation, between a past he’s tried to burry and a future he cannot conceive.

My Thoughts

This is another one of those books that I wanted to love (cause everyone else has) but it was just ok.  I found parts of it rather slow and boring and wondering when it was going to pick up.  One aspect I really enjoyed was the transcript conversations with Andy Barber and Neal Loguidice, totally led me down a different path than what I was expecting.  There was not one character I enjoyed or was attached to, Laurie just drove me up the wall.

The redeeming quality was the end.  Oh the end.  Mind hole blown.  Was not expecting that what so ever.  The end is want bumped this novel up from a 2 to 3 star.  This was my first book by William Landay and would be willing to give one of his others a read, I never judge an author having only read one of their books.

My Rating: «««

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The reviews made here are my personal opinion. I’m not being paid to review any of these books. I am by no means a professional book reviewer or editor.  I do this for the love of books.

The 13th Hour by Richard Doetsch

Publisher: Atria Books
Publish Date: December 29, 2009
Format: Audio
Discs: 10
A mesmerizing thriller – told in reverse The 13^th Hour is the story of a man given the chance to go back in time in one-hour increments to prevent a vicious crime from destroying his life.  Nick Quinn is being held in jail, accused of the murder of his beloved wife, Julia.  He knows she’s dead; he saw her bloody corpse, shot in the head at point-blank range.  The police tell him they found the murder weapon with his fingerprints on it in the trunk of his car.  Nick is confused, grief-stricken – “and completely innocent.”

At 9 p.m. on July 28, a gray-haired gentleman visits Nick in the police interrogation room and asks him a simple question” “If you could get out of here, if you could save her, would you?”  He hands Nick a golden talisman that allows Nick to go back in time, one hour at a time, for a total of twelve hours.  With each hour that Nick travels back, he finds more clues to the identity of Julia’s real killer, but he also discovers that his actions in the past may have unexpected repercussions in the future.

In his race against time to save the woman he loves most in the world, Nick will find that friends become enemies, old loyalties are tested and Julia’s murder is part of a larger scheme that has its roots in greed and vengeance.  Nick has the ability to Save Julia, the chance to put his own world in balance, but he is venturing down a precarious route.  If he doesn’t set things right by the thirteenth hour, his desperate attempts to save Julia’s life may lead to a far greater catastrophe than he could have ever imagined.

My Thoughts

Well-written with a great concept.  The story is told in reverse, which  thought was great, although 13 hours was a bit too much - it got a little repetitive towards the end.  I loved the characters - especially Nick and Julia, very likable.

As the novel progressed I found that it got frustrating.  Frustrating in a sense that every hour Nick went back he would muck something up, but in the end everything had a way of working itself out.  What I love about suspense - thriller novels is the ending is never predictable!  Great read and highly recommend.  I listened to this on Audio and absolutely loved the narration. 

My Rating: ««««

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The reviews made here are my personal opinion. I’m not being paid to review any of these books. I am by no means a professional book reviewer or editor.  I do this for the love of books.

Dark Places by Gillian Flynn

Publisher: Crown Publishing
Publish Date: May 5, 2009
Format: download library
Pages: -
ISBN: -

Libby Day was seven when her mother and two sisters were murdered in “The Satan Sacrifice of Kinnakee, Kansas.”  As her family lay dying, little Libby fled their farmhouse into the freezing January snow.  She lost some fingers and toes, but she survived – and famously testified that her fifteen-year-old brother Ben, was the killer.  Twenty-five years later, Ben sits in prison, and troubled Libby lives of the dregs of a trust fund created by well-wishers who’ve long forgotten her.

The Kill Club is a macabre secret society obsessed with notorious crimes.  When they locate Libby and pump her for details – proof they hope may free Ben – Libby hatches a plan to profit off her tragic history.  For a fee, she’ll admit her testimony wasn’t so solid after all.

As Libby’s search takes her from shabby Missouri strip clubs to abandoned Oklahoma tourist towns, the narrative flashes back to January 2, 1985.  The events of that day are relayed through the eyes of Libby’s doomed family members – including Ben, a loner whose rage over his shiftless father and their failing farm have driven him into a disturbing friendship with the new girl in town.  Piece by piece, the unimaginable truth emerges, and Libby finds herself right back where she started – on the run from a killer.

My Thoughts

Oi! Where to even begin...my head is still spinning.  Dark places is set between present day and 1985 when it (no spoilers) all went down and is told from three main points of view; Libby Day, Ben Day and Patty Day, which a I always enjoy - lets you get inside everyone's head.

When I first started reading I wasn't sure I was going to like it.  I was such a fan of Gone Girl and had set Gillian Flynn on a pedestal for mystery writing I just wasn't sure it was going to live up to my expectations.  Once I started really getting into the story and trying to figure out the "who done it" is when I really started to enjoy the novel.  It is very dark, twisted and horrifying, one of those novel you want to hate for it's content but you just can't help but love it.  This book is disturbingly awesome and clever, pure magic.

I would have given it a 5 star rating had I not been able to piece together the ending before the end.  But overall a great read! 

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The reviews made here are my personal opinion. I’m not being paid to review any of these books. I am by no means a professional book reviewer or editor.  I do this for the love of books.

Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn

Publisher: Crown Publishing Group

Publish Date: June 2012

Pages: - 

Format: Kobo

ISBN: 978-0307588388

On a warm summer morning in North Carthage, Missouri, it is Nick and Amy Dunne’s fifth wedding anniversary.  Presents are being wrapped and reservations are being made when Nick’s clever and beautiful wife disappears from their rented McMansion on the Mississippi River.  Husband-of-the-Year Nick isn’t doing himself any favours with cringe-worthy daydreams about the slope and shape of his wife’s head, but passages from Amy’s diary reveal the alpha-girl perfectionist could have put anyone dangerously on edge.  Under mounting pressure from the police and the media – as well as Amy’s fiercely doting parents – the town golden boy parades an endless series of lies, deceits, and inappropriate behaviour.  Nick is oddly evasive, and he’s definitely bitter – but is he really a killer?

As the cops close in, every couple in town is soon wondering how well they know the one that they love.  With his twin sister, Margo, at his side, Nick stands by his innocence.  Trouble is, if Nick didn’t do it, where is the beautiful wife?  And what was in that silvery gift box hidden in the back bedroom closet?

My Thoughts

What can I say other than wow!! I don't think I've ever encountered a novel with such brilliantly written characters that you love to hate and hate that you love them.  I'm pretty sure throughout the entire book I changed my theory of the outcome 10 times...it was literally one of those novels that "kept you guessing until the very last page."  Gillian Flynn dished out just enough info to keep you strung alone and then you have the outcome figured out and the BAM! It really is a gripping story that I couldn't put down (many hours of sleep were sacrificed) I just loved the twistedness of the whole thing.    

The only downfall, I want more!  I haven't fell in love with a character (Amy) like this is such a long time and I just want their story to continue.  This truly is a novel that will be stuck in my head for a long time.  Rumor has it that it's becoming a movie, I hope it does the book justice!

My Rating: «««««

Buy it Now!

The reviews made here are my personal opinion. I’m not being paid to review any of these books. I am by no means a professional book reviewer or editor.  I do this for the love of books.